"Do you want to stay longer here?" I look up from the book I am leafing through. The kind-faced librarian is peering at me from over her silver-framed glasses.

"Actually yes. I need to do some homework for extra credits." I try a small smile, just to appease her.

"But my shift is over. I'm not allowed to keep the library open beyond eleven ' o'clock."

"Can' you make an exception?" I ask slowly.

"I'm afraid not"—I click my fingers. Her eyes glaze over for a second before becoming clear again.—"Yes, you can stay for a while."

"Give me the keys please, I'll lock up after you." 

She nods and hands me the keys and proceeds to collect her bag from the counter. 

"Take your bag tomorrow," I whisper my command. She steps away and turns back, slowly exiting through the door. A little bit of compulsion always comes in handy. Why hurt innocent people when you can sweet-talk them into getting what you want? 

Once she's out of the door, I close the wooden panes slowly and click the lock into place. Turning back, I survey the grand library. There are two floors. The front of the hall has wooden benches and tables neatly lined in rows. Beyond that, a spiral staircase rises to the hanging top floor, which holds an equal number of racks like the ground floor, stacked to the top with various books. The ground floor mainly is an all-access floor with course books and reference books. The top floor has all books on ancient fae literature and history. You need to have a special card to access books from that section. But none of these racks is of any interest to me because I bet the books I need aren't available on display on the shelves.

The emptiness of the library is almost scary and I wish Hemlock was here. He'd have known exactly where to search.

I look at the watch. I have almost six hours before students start streaming in for some early morning study. 

"Need help?" I am startled to hear Hemlock's voice, also maybe a bit relieved. He comes out from behind a bookshelf wearing the same dress he was wearing earlier. Did he come to the library to sulk?

"Hem, were you here the whole time?"

"Kinda." He comes closer.

"Hey, I'm sorry about earlier," I whisper.

"It's okay, Lark. I am not mad at you." He seems to hesitate for a moment. "What are you doing?"

"I'm doing what we planned to do, Hem!" I squint at him, surprised.

"Ah right! The plan." He nods. There's something off about him but I can't place a finger on what it is.

"Are you feeling okay?" I ask, reaching out to touch his arm.

"Yeah,"— he steps back, just out of reach. "I'm fine."

"Listen, if you're mad about earlier then—" I don't try to touch him anymore. If he needs space, I understand. "I can never forget how you saved me. It was so wrong of me to lash out like that."

He simply nods. "Forget it. So, what do I do to help?"

"Okay, here!" I hold up the bunch of gleaming brass keys like a trophy.  "Take this and find the book!"

"The—what book again?"

"Don't mess with me, Hem! It was your plan. It might take the whole night. We need to divide and check all lockers, vaults and archives." I take up the stack of books closest to me, running my fingers over the spines. Who knows what we are searching for might be hiding in plain sight.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I see Hemlock mirroring my actions. But he looks distracted. I've seen Hemlock at work. He's very determined and focused, more focused than me. But tonight he's throwing sidelong glances at me almost as if—

I shove the keys into the pocket of my cargo pants and slowly back away from the counter. The hairs on the back of my neck are rising. I know what was amiss earlier. I always put my guard down around him because he feels like a safe space, but somehow my body didn't put its guard down tonight.

"Give me the keys. I will check the drawer." He turns towards me.

"What book are we trying to find, Hem?" I flex my fingers behind my back, my magic rising to the tips.

"That book right?" The one—"

"Who are you?"

"Lark I—"

Crack! My magic shoots out like a whip and slashes on the floor, just inches away from my companion. He jumps back, fears evident on his face.

"Have you gone mad?" 

Crack!

A strangled cry emanates from his lips. I had made sure the whip licks just the side of his arm but he must have felt the jolt of the magic. I spread my hands in the air. A shock wave jars the walls around us, making the books shudder.

"This place is soundproof now!" I smirk. "Even if you die, no one will know."

"I don't understand—"

Crack!

"Okay—okay—okay fine!" A cloud of smoke rises around him, dissipating in the air and leaving behind—Ergun!

"What is the problem with you?"

"What is the problem with you?" he shoots back. "You know I could get you arrested and tried for all this that you're doing."

"I have done nothing wrong." I let the tentacles of my compulsion charm loose. I can almost feel the magic heading towards him slowly, caressing him like a maiden's hands. "The librarian let me study and gave me the keys to lock up after her. Is studying a crime?"

"No it isn't but—" My charm reaches for the cloud of suspicion in his mind, tugging it slowly. "You did seem suspicious."

"Says the one using masking charm to impersonate another student," I say firmly. "We're not allowed to use magic on campus."

"But you used magic."

"No, I didn't. You used forbidden magic. It's a crime to impersonate someone." The tentacles of compulsion crush the cloud of suspicion like sawdust.

"Please don't complain against me. It's my fault. I was following you to talk to you since Hemlock is the only person you seem to talk freely with and so I disguised as him. I had no such intention to—" I am so surprised that I stop erasing his memory mid-way.

"What are you, seven? Why can't you talk to me like a grown-ass adult?" I retort.

"Because you always dismiss me and my intentions." I withdraw the compulsion charm.

"Fine, tell me what you wanted to say."

"I don't remember."

I sigh. I have already used too much magic on the poor guy. I command the tentacles on standby and they plow through his memory like a tractor through a pile of hay. He goes still, his eyes unfocused. Then slowly he blinks and his gaze refocuses on me. 

"Lark, what's up? Why am I here?"

"That's what I was going to ask you. I saw the library door open and came in to find you here." I say smoothly, turning around, hoping he will follow. It works. He shuffles out slowly behind me.

"It's strange, I don't remember why I am here." He still looks lost.

I close the library door and turn the key in the lock. "It's okay, happens to the best of us. I need to return the key to Mrs Balencia."

Thunder crackles in the distance as I gather my jacket tighter against me and start walking towards the dorms. The brief spell of rain in the evening has left a chill in the air and so the corridors are almost empty. I certainly have no desire to linger outside the dorm rooms longer than necessary, and not after the recent attack. My iron-toed shoes make a clip-clop noise on the stone-lined pavement, almost as if I am wearing heels. In the silence of the night, the sound seems to be amplified manifold, echoing through the empty hallways, more because his shoes make no sound. He's like a cat. Bad choice of shoes indeed, but a necessary addition to my outfit in case of an emergency.

"Though why are you always prowling at night?" And the detective in him is back at work! How I wish I could erase the detective in him with my magic!

"I can ask the same of you, Ergun. I come to the library every day for some late-night study. Are you stalking me?" I say, without even slowing down.

"No, but you seem to be always roaming at ungodly hours." He starts walking faster to catch up.

"Because when god takes a break, the devil roams free." 

"I don't think you are the devil." He says again.

"How much do you know me?" I turn towards him, letting my magic escape just a tiny bit. In my reflection in his eyes, I see a wisp of purple sheen shoot across my iris and disappear.

"I would like to—"

"I wouldn't want you to. So no, thanks." I deliberately quicken my pace.

"Where are you going?" Why on earth is he so clingy?

"To the faculty dorms to return the key, you moron!" Minimal interaction is how I survive. I am not very good with chitchats and here I am cursing at him, losing my cool and doing silly things like feeling conflicting emotions.

"Someone going to top the semester." He laughs.

I whip around. "Listen here. I hate having to repeat it, but I'm not the best person to befriend. So if you want to survive college, stay away."

"But I don't—watch out!" he screams, lunging forward, grabbing me and spinning me around. I see fire, I see exploding concrete but I hear no sound. There's a shrill whistling in my ear. My world spins and it feels like I'm going to fall. Nightmares resurface in my waking vision—my village burning—fireballs flying—soldiers in black—screams and cruel eyes—pain—darkness.

A soothing darkness—more peaceful than sleep.

A/N This is kinda my first time trying to write a mystery fantasy. How am I doing?